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Topic: My first home-made styrofoam hive (Read 7099 times)

I've read some threads here and elsewhere of people who have made home-made beehives from sheets of insulation-grade styrofoam or art-and-craft types of styrofoam, but I have never seen any pictures of it. Does anyone here have pictures? Or drawings?

Although I plan to have some wooden hives in 2014, I'm also quite interested in the viability of using home-made styrofoam hives, even if the hive boxes last only two or three years. I used insulation boards from my local hardware store, and the total cost of one brood box is EUR 3.00 (maybe EUR 5.00 if I paint it and include the paint price). At that price the "buy durable hives" argument falls away, at least for the hobbyist beekeeper.

I made my first styrofoam hive box yesterday, and today I put 250 kg of bricks on top of it to see what would happen. So far, the hive box doesn't show any signs of being aware that there is 250 kg of bricks on it. My main concern is, indeed, whether such a hive box can support a lot of weight, because if it can't, then such a hive would be limited to e.g. two or three boxes.

I used no glue -- only duct tape. I also wrapped the sides that the bees will have access to with clear plastic film of the type that you wrap gifts or flowers in. Later I'll do a similar weight test without any frames in it. You'll notice that the frame rest from the upper box will rest directly on the frame ears of the lower box -- that is deliberate, in an attempt to let more of the styrofoam carry weight.

Interesting....What's been your experience with duct tape exposed to the elements for a year?

My observations have shown it to be pretty unimpressive.

Let us know how it works out.

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"We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions." - Ronald Reagan

What's been your experience with duct tape exposed to the elements for a year?

That is what I intend to find out until the spring arrives :-) but I'm told that duct tape should last. If it doesn't, then I'll find out soon enough. I'm just a hobby beekeeper and I can inspect my hives regularly and, if necessary, replace them with something more sturdy in an emergency.

If you build hives out of the soft Styrofoam the bees are going to chew it up and it will turn into a White snowy powder, I speak from my own experience.

I've heard that before, and that is why I thought it might help to cover the styrofoam with plastic film. On this first hive box, I used giftwrap type plastic, but I can also use thicker table-cloth type plastic which is what many beekeepers hereabouts use instead of an inner cover. The bees don't eat that.

:-D I also used plastic to separate them, but it is not sustainable in the long run, and does not wear well over time, the fist break or hole and they will bee at it and chew on it.

Also if the boxes a filled with Heavy frames of honey the wear and tear on the box where the wooden frames meet will be great , also the bees like to put propolis there and when you scrape it of the foam will follow.

If you make a thin wooden liner inside the box of plywood or thin Wood it will bee more stable and last.

Also the bees like to put propolis there and when you scrape it of the foam will follow.

I've been thinking about that, yes. I think this is the advantage of actually making such a hive box, because you can see things more clearly than on a drawing. What I can do is to put a 40 mm x 10 mm plank underneath the frame ears -- that'll enable me to separate the ears from the box if they have been glued tight.

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If you make a thin wooden liner inside the box of plywood or thin Wood it will bee more stable and last.

Your idea of lining the inside with plywood has merit, but I'll have to find out what type of plywood will survive water. Most of the stuff sold in local hardware stores are not meant to be used outside -- they dissolve when they get wet.

On a serious note, you’ve made a good first prototype. X:X Now it’s time to consider how to improve the design. It’s rare to get a design perfect in the first revision. I’m on about revision 8 of my foam hives. As Edward says, the bees will eventually start chewing up your Styrofoam but that takes a while. The more immediate problem you’re going to have is your foam frame rests. The bees will glue the frames to the rests and you’ll have one huge mess. In order to remove frames beeks typically break a frame loose on one end and then slide the others to get them out. Neither activity is going to work with foam frame rests. I use wood for my frame rests.

The duct tape on the mating surfaces is thinking in the right direction; just the wrong material. It won’t last and the robbers have a tendency chew into the hive around duct tape. When they find a discontinuity of material, that’s where they start chewing.

Foam is stronger than it might appear as you demonstrated. Here they build houses out of the stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_insulated_panel I build my hives out of extruded polystyrene that is rated for 15 psi. They end up with a foot print of about 120 square inches which could support up to 1800 lbs (800 Kg).

My suggestion would be to glue the foam sides together with a polyurethane glue instead of the duct tape. You get a very strong bond and it’s waterproof. If you want the hive to last for more than a year or two, you also need to paint (or cover) the surface to protect it from the Sun’s UV rays. I simply paint my exterior with a latex primer and a latex top coat. That is all the exterior needs IMO. Not much more weather proof than painted plastic.

I agree with Edward that the interior of a foam hive needs some kind of cladding, or foil, because the bees will eventually start eating the hive away. I’ve tried plywood and it delaminated. I currently use masonite/hardboard because the stuff holds up pretty good INSIDE the hive and it can be glued securely to foam.

Finally, I hate to admit it, but I would stick with wood for the supers. The supers get a lot of abuse and I really don’t see a great benefit to insulating them since (at least in my case) the insulation provides the most benefit to northern bees in the winter and early spring before the colonies get supers.

As for costs, I don’t know what the costs are in Europe, but shipping big bulky things (like foam hives) is expensive in the USA whereas building things from the home supply store is pretty economical due to the volume of scale and shipping via rail. The trick is finding a design that is sufficiently durable to your tastes and doesn’t require too much labor to make; the materials are really pretty low cost. Certainly lower cost than wood.

I may be wrong, but that looks like standard old duct tape to me...just marketed under the "duck tape" name for Ace hardware.

I haven't personally tried it, but Gorilla tape may be another option if it's available to you...It's marketed as tougher than duct tape. Although it appears to be quite pricey! Gorilla Tape LINK!

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"We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions." - Ronald Reagan

I gotta agree with Moots. Don’t be fooled by DucK vs Duct. It’s all the same stuff and it’s all worthless for a bee hive. Don’t over think this one, use what’s DESIGNED for gluing foam to foam; namely Polyurethane glue. A common brand of Poly glue is called “gorilla glue”, but other companies also make it too.

1 medium sized bottle of gorilla glue can probably glue together at least 2 dozen hives. It’s cheaper than Duck or Duct and it is MUCH cheaper than using Gorilla Tape.

I gotta agree with Moots. Don’t be fooled by DucK vs Duct. It’s all the same stuff...

Yes, and what's more, the different brands of "duct tape" also make them different. I found that the duct tape that I bought at the village hardware store was a lot more sticky and less plasticky than the tape I bought at the town hardware store, for roughly the same price.

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Don’t over think this one, use what’s DESIGNED for gluing foam to foam; namely Polyurethane glue.

I'm concerned that glue might have been designed specifically for large surfaces. When styrofoam sheets are used in insulation, you don't glue it or things to it at 90 degree angles, but flat against it.

I'm also worried that glue might only work on smooth surfaces. I don't cut my styrofoam with a hot wire -- I saw it with a handsaw, so the edges aren't smooth. Even if you brush the edges to get rid of loose pellets and rub it with your hands to smoothen it out, the edges aren't "smooth" in the same sense as the large, flat areas of the styrofoam sheets.

I’ve built over 100 homemade foam hives and nucs from home building foam sheets. Nothing bonds better than polyurethane glue in my experience. I cut my polystyrene sheets with a table saw but I do use extruded polystyrene, NOT the white expanded polystyrene you’re using. A table saw does not leave a super smooth cut, but the surface is more or less sound.

You might have a legitimate concern with the white expanded foam. Ripping it by hand might make too many of the surface nodules mechanically unsound and no glue will totally fix that. However gorilla glue expands as it cures so it might expand in and behind the surface nooks and crannies to make a strong bond. My guess is it would, but I can’t say I’ve ever tried it with the white foam.

Apart from the other problems I noted above with duct tape, there is the issue of paint. If you don’t paint a Styrofoam hive, the suns UVs rays will disintegrate away 3 to 5mm of foam a year. Maybe that’s ok for a 40mm thick box, but it just seems like destruction that can be easily prevented with latex paint. However latex paint isn’t going to stick on your Duct tape.

There is also the aesthetics of using duct tape. It just doesn’t look very professional.

If you don’t paint a Styrofoam hive, the suns UVs rays will disintegrate away 3 to 5mm of foam a year. ... There is also the aesthetics of using duct tape. It just doesn’t look very professional.

Heh-heh... yes, as for protecting the hive from the outside:

It doesn't look professional at all. But I realised that I would have to protect the styrofoam from fingers, at least. I know that the sun will damage it, but poking damage is a more immediate concern (I can't poke a hole in it with my finger, but I can do severe damage with just a finger). The milk carton prevents that. But... it doesn't look very professional. Not that that bothers me at this time :-)